Ball-winding machine



Apr. 17, i923.

A' Filed Jue '7,

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Apr. n, 1923. 1,452,469v

E. G. LoOMls l BALL WINDING MACHINE Filed June 7 1922 5 sheets-sheet :3

/NVENTOR BY ffm/ A TTORNE Ys -lfatented Apr. 1'?, 11923.

,Y 'nir `EVRIS LOOMIS, OF NEWRK, NEW'A JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO ST. MUNGMANUFACL TURING COMPANY F AMERICA, 0F NEWARK, NEW

NEW JERSEY.

JERSEY, A CORPORATION 0F l BALL-WINDING MACHINE.

Application -led June 7,

. Tolllwlzom z'zf may concern.:

' ,Be it known that I, EvAR'rs G. Loomis, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of`Ne,\vark, county of Essex, and State of NewJersey.y have invented certain new and useful Improvements inBall-Hurlingblachines, of which the following is a specifi-sation.

Mv invention relates to a vmachine for winding balls and is intendedparticularly for winding golf-ball centers.

' An object of the invention is the `p1.ov1s1on of a machine which isadapted automatically to'wind balls witha distribution of threa-d thatWill give a smooth', neat, spherical in` ish and will knit well with thecover of the ball and yet be free from protuberances that weaken thecover of the ball. n

F ig. 1 shows in part seitional elevation' a machine-embodying myinvention; l

Fig. 2 is a plan vi e\v of the machine of Fig. 1; s

Fig. 3 is a section taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. il;

Fig. 4 is a section through one of the heads of Fig. l, the sectionbeing taken substantially on the line 4-4 of said ligure; and

Fig 5 illustrates a partially Woundl 'core Wound in my improved machine.

Referring tothe drawingsin detail, 1 designates the frame of the machinewhich is `provided with bearings 2 and 3 in which 1s supported alongitudinally extend-ing drive shaft 4, this shaft carrying drivingpulley 5 and loose pulley 6.

Mounted on the drive shaft adjacent the 4bearing 2 is a broad-faceddrive gear 7 meshing with a narrow-faced slidable gear 8 farried by astub shaft 9 to `which it is pinned or otherwise rigidly secured. Thestub shaft 9 is mounted in bearings'10 and i 11, the latter beingprovided by a standard 12 supportedby rods 13 extending lengthw-ise ofthe machine. The stub shaft 9 car ries one of the rotary heads 14 byWhich.a core designated 15 is held in place in `themachine, this headcomprising a' `pair of bevelled independently rotatable rollers 16straight-faced 1922. Serial No. 566,468.

adapted to engage the surface of the core during the winding operation.The shaft 9 being movable longitudinally, permits the' head 14 to recedeto the left as viewed in i F ig. 1` so as to accommodate itself- `to themeshes with a gear 18 carried by a hollow'- shaft 19 in alignment withthe stub shaft 9; The gear 18is of the same size as the gear S. l sleeve20 mounted in a standard 21 supported by the' rod 13 provides a bearingfor the hollow shaft 19. Screived on the outer reduced end of this shaftis a head adapted to engage the core 15 on the opposite side to the head14 already referred to.

The heads 1 4 and 22 by reason of the gears 7,17 `and 8, 18 being of thesame size rotate at the same speed. a yoke 23 which carries a pair ofelongated rollers 24 and 25. The roller 24 is mounted on al squaredshaft 26 supported in'the yoke 23 While the roller 25 is slidablymounted on a similar shaft 2T. The squared shafts 26 and 27 also supportracks 28 and 29 respectively provided for the purpose of reciprocatingor sliding the rollers 24 and 25 longitudinally and in opposeddirections.

One side of the yoke 23 `receives and supports a small stud 30 on whichis mounted a ear 31 meshing With gears 32 and 33 carried on the ends ofthe shafts 26 and 27 respectively. As so far described the head 22 isadapted to be rotated bythe hollow shaft 19 carrying the rollers 24 andalong Iwith it,these rollers also having Va reciproca'tory movement aswell asa rotary movement aboutvtheir individual axes.

Attached to what' may be termed the hub of the headY 22 is a stud 34straight-faced gear 35 meshing with the gear 31 already referred to.This stud a bevelled gear 3G meshing 'with a bevelled gear 37 mounted ona sleeve 38 carried by the shaft 19. The bevelled gearr36 is providedwith a friction brake 39 the purpose of which will bel pointed outhereinafter.

On the head 22 I provide` carrying a also carries" spring 51.

`47 which actually engage the roller.

ing a roller 44 at its upper end adapted to be operated on by a cam 45mounted on the shaft 4 and provided with detents 4G and arm 43 isprovided with a short rod 4S attachedtoa brake-controlling link 49. thislink beingattached to. the brake band coinprising a part of the brake239 already referred to. The brake link 49 is provided with-an ear orlug 5() tor receiving' one end of a coil spring 51, the other end bfwhich is secured to a fixed ear It will be seen that when the roller 44is brought into engagement' with either of the dctents 4G or 47 of thecam 45 the arm 43 will be rocked about its pivot so as to apply thebrake 39 which is normally released by theatension Extending through thehollow shaft 19 is a small shaft 53 carrying at its left hand end asviewed in Fig. 1 a pinion 54 which as will bevseen from Fig. 3 engagesthe racks QS and 29 with which theV head 22 is provided. The hole inshaft 19 is reduced at the' end adjacent the head Q2 to form an interiorshoulder providingr an abutment for a collar 55 carried on the rod Theshaft 19 at its. bearing in the frame 1 receives a slidingr cam sleeve5G keyed to and rotated by hollow shaft 19 but free to slidelongitudinally therein and provided with cam slots 57. provided with apair ot rollers 5.9 which ride in the cam slots 57.

Pivoted on the frame 1 is a lever Gt) carryint;T a roller G1 at itsextreme end and also a swivel block G0', The motion of lever Gl) may belimited by the nut 100 on stud 9G. Fig. Q. The roller 61 is adapted tocooperate with a cam 62 carried b v a large gear 6? which is supportedon a longitudinally movable shat't 64 mounted in l'iearings in thestandard 1Q and the frame 1. The. roller 61 is maintained in engagementwith the face of the cam 62 by means of a spring: 65, one end of whichabuts the collar on theshaft 53, the other end engaging the-shoulder('36 on the sleeve 5G. The: gear G3 is driven vby a broad-faced pinion6T carried at the extreme right hand end .of the drive `shaft 4.

-Operatively connected to the stub shaft 9 is an arm G8 pivotallymounted on the standard 12, this saine arm also being connected to theend of the shaft 64 carrying' the gear 63. It will be seen `thereforethat the head 14 and the gear 63 are in effect connected to each otherby therod 64 and the arm 68 so The The rod 53 already referred to isynaaf/wea ln order that the` thread T0 may always be properly led to thecore 15 l provide arms $5 and St?. the lattt r c 'arryiircY tape guidingrollers 8T and SS. 'lhese arms are mounted on a verti ally extending rod89. Attached to the arm R5 is a rod 9() carryinga roller 91 cooperatingrwith a cam 92 carried by .the gear 63.'

Having' now described the construction .ot my improved machine l willproceed to describe a cycle of operation thereof in the process otwindinga core as indicated dia- `granimatically in Figl. Assumingthatthe parts of the machine are in position wherein the sleeve :T6 is inits full ret 'acted position, i e.` in engagement with the low part ofthe cam GQ and that the brake lever 43 or rather the roller 44 carriedthereby is ont of en- -gagenient with the detents 46 or 47 beingr heldin this position by the spring 93.

I may here mention before proceeding fur ther with the operation of themachine, that the brake-controlling lever 43 is adapted to be controlledin part by a shaft 94 which extends parallel to the drive shaft 4 and isslidable in the standard Q1and frame 1 and controlled by a pair of camsI94a and 94 mounted on the large gear 6? These two cams as will be seenfrom Fig. 3 are spaced 180o apart. l

The driving gears 7 and 17 which have alreadyv been referred to are otthe same diameter so as to drive the heads 14 and 22 at the same speed.The ratio between the pinion 67 andthe large gear 63 in this particularmachine is twenty-one to one. The core 15, attei-the thread has beenattached thereto may be inserted in the machine b v moving the head 14away from the head 23 by operation of the cable G9. The thread 70 isthen led over the top o'f the roller 88 and the machine is now ready foroperation..

the heads 14 and 22 being driven in the same direction`r i. e.. in adirection away from the obseryer as viewed in Fig. Q and the core 15being rotated about a horizontal axis parallel to the longitudinal axisof the machine. It will be assumed at this time thatthe cams 94a and 94bare both out of engagement with the end of the rod 94 so that the brake39 is in released position. This being -so the bevelled gear 37 is freeto rotate with the shaft 19 and hence no rotary inotion is imparted tothe bevelled gear 36 nor the racks 28 and Q9, nor are the rollers 24 andQ5 rotated on their individual axes.

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the rod 90 and thread guide levers 85 and '86H to move to the rightunder the action of the spring 58, Fig. 2. llhus the line of travel ofthe thread is movedto the right by means of the motion of the roller 88.These two motions will obviously cause the thread to be wrapped in theform of a spiral or helixA onthe surface of the ball and in thisparticular construction tenand one-half turns are thus given to the ballin this manner` when the horizontal axis of the ball will be shifted laswill be later explained and then another similar helical winding of ten'and one-half wraps will be laid on the ball but in this case from theright to the left and soV on alternately. This form of winding isclearly indicated in Fig. 5. At the inlstant of operation shown in thefigures the cam 94Il will have been brought into position to engage theend of the rod 94 to force the lever 43 into position to bring itsroller 44 into engagement with the cam "46 or 47 as the case may be toapply the lbrake 39 to the bevelled gear 37 holdin-g the same againstrotation.

With the gear 37 stationary and the head 22 still rotating it will be atonce apparent that the bevelled gear 36 will be rotated on its stud 34to rotatethe small gears 32 and 33 to cause the rollers 24 and 25 `torotate in the direct-ion of the arrowl on the roller 24 ofFig. 1. Thismotion of the rollers 24 and 25 `willimpart a movement to the-core 15 ina clockwise direction about a vertical axis as viewed in Fig. 2 andinasmuch as the ball at this time `is rotating about anr ,axis parallelto the longitudinal axis of the machine thelast wrap on the core andwhich I will designate 97 is brought across the wraps 96 as indicatedin'Fig. By the time the last wrap of thread has reached the positionshown in Fig. 5-on the core 15 the cam 46 or 47 as the case may be willhave ridden away from the brake lever 43 and the latter will have beenrestored to its original position by the spring 93. The brake on thebevelled ear 37 now being released, lthe motion of t e core about avertical axis due to rotation of the rollers 24 4and 25` on theirindividual axes will-cease. However, as the machine operates the re.-Aceding surface of the cam 62 will allow the spring to act upon the endof the sleeve 56 pushing the latter to the right and b v reason of thecamslot 57 the shaft 53 and pinion 54 will be rotated in the oppositedirection of rotation of the head 22 causing the roller 24 to moveendwise vertically as viewed in Fig. land the roller 25 to move endwisein the opposite direction. This moti'on of the rollers 24 and 25 willrotate the core about the saine horizontal axis about which it isturning but' will changeV the original vertical axis of the ball inrelation to the axes of the rollers 24 and 25.

so that the former pole or point of crossing of the windings will beshifted about. 900 more or less in relation to the winding head- 22.

lt will be evident that if the thread is fed to the core under tensionasit actually is in practice; pulll of the tensioned thread will tend toassist this spring operated motion.

As the thread is applied to the core the diameter of the core of courseconstantly increases-.and in order to take care of this increase 1ndiameter and maintain the conditions necessary to produce a sphericalball the gear 63 on which the controlling cams are mounted is given a'nendw'ise motion in line /with the axis of rotation as will be seen inFig. 5 and as has been explained. When the smallest center or core to bewound is rst inserted between the winding heads the gear 63 4is in itsextreme right hand position and the lever 60 is limited in its travel bythe nut. 100 so that at the time the roller 61 is held out of contactwith the cam 62 and by this means the travel of the caln sleeve 56 andthe corresponding endwise mot-ions.

core. As the core increases in diameter it will be clear that there willbe less lostmotion ofthe lever 60 and a corresponding increase intheendwise travel ot' the "rollers 24 and 25 so that for all sizes thismotion will be proportioned to give an approximately equal angulardisplacement of the ball axis between each twisting motion.

Also as the core increases in diameter the shaft 94 will be given agreater-movement to the lett by the cams 94a and 94h and'conseqnentlythe roller V44 will engage a correspondingly wider portion ot thetapered lobes 46 and 47 ot' the cam 45 and hence a compensatefor thechange in position of the center of the core to the lett as the core isincreased in size.

Alt will be seen from the foregoing thatl I have provided a machine inwhich the heads 14 and 22 which hold the core are rotated on a commonaxis. the thread guiding rollers 86 and 67 guiding the thread in adirection which is parallel to the axis of rotation of the heads'14 and22 and that b v providingr means for moving the rollers 14 and 22endwise but in opposed directions and for rotating these rollers ontheir individual axes the axis of rotation of the ball in relationto theaxis of rotation of the heads is intermittently changed. i

It will be seen also that the core is rotated for a predetermined numberof times about a given fixed axis, to-wit: an axis parallel to thelongitudinal axis of` the mac iine and that simultaneously the plane of'winding of .the thread Tl) is moved in a direction parallel to saidaxis, the intermittent rotation of' the rollers 24 and on theirindividual axes intermittently rotating the core,

on a secondary axis which is atright angles t0 the first fixed axis andthat by imparting an endwise motion to the rollers Q4 and 25 in oppositedirections intermittently I impart a third rotative motion to they coreabout the fixed axis above mentioned, the motion imparted to the core bythis intermittent movement of the rollers 24 and 25, however, beingalternated so as to vary the location of the poles 99' on the surface ofthe core with respect to each other and to apply the thread to the ballin such a way that there is the least possible tendency of the thread toslip offfiduring the winding operation, the result being a firm neatwinding and a substantially spherical core with a substantially smoothsurface.

` lVhile I have described the precise details of a machine embodying myinvention it is tobe understood that these details may be varied ormodified within the scope of in v invention.

I claim:

1. The method of winding a sphere whichv method consists in rotating thesphere a predetermined'number of times about a predetermined fixed axiswhile simultaneously moving the plane of ywinding of the thread in adirection parallel to saidaxis to cause the thread to traverse the ball,intermittently rotating the sphere on secondary axes at an.

angle to said fixed axis and simultaneously imparting a third rotarymotion to the sphere alternately in the same and in an op-.

` ball in relation to theaxis of the head.

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3. In a ball winding machine the combination ot means for rotating aball a predetermined number of times about an axis,

. threadecontrolling means for simultaneously causing the thread totraverse the ball in a direction parallel to said axis and means forintermittently changing the axis of-rotation of the ball.

ifiaafiee 4. In a ball winding machine, means for rotating the ball tobe wound a predetermined number of times about a given fixed axis, meanstor simultaneously causing the thread to traverse the ball iii adirection parallel to said axis, and means for intermittently rotatingthe ball on a second axis at right angles to the said fixed axis.

5. In a balli winding machine, mechanism for rotating a ball to be wounda predetermined number of times about a given fixed axis whilesimultaneously causing the thread to traverse tlieba'llina directionparallel to said axis, mechanism for intermittently rotating the ball onsecondary axes at right angles to said fixed axis, and means forsuperposing a third rotating motion on the first mentioned axis butalternately iii the same and opposite directions to the first mo tion tochange each time the posit-ion of the the ball, this means'acting tovary the ino-Y i tion of the mechanism for changing the axis of the ballto compensate forthe increasing vcircumference ot the ball.

T. In a ball winding machine, the ,combinationof two rotataLe oppositelydisposed heads for receiving a core to be wound, means for leadingthread to said core. mechaiiisni for imparting rotary movement to a coreheld in said heads and to cause,the thread to be applied theretolielically and means for periodically changing the direction of rotationof' the core to vary the loc'ation of the helical wraps of threadthereon.

S. In a ball winding machine. the combination of a pair of rotatableheads for holding` and rotating a core to be wound. means for causingthe thread to traverse said coreVv in a direction parallel to the axisof rotation of said heads, one ot said lieadscomprising a pair ofelongated rollers, means for periodically moving said rollers longirtudinally and in opposite directions simultaneously` and mechanism forimparting a rotary motion to said rollers about their individual axes.

9. Iii a ballv winding machine, the combination of a pair of` rotatableheads for receiving and holding a 'core to be wound. a pair of'elongated rollers carried by one head directly engaging the surface ofsaid cor-e` mechanism for effecting a lengthwise movement of saidrollers in opposite directions and mechanism for effecting rotation ofsaid elongated rollerson their individual axes at theend of theirlongitudinal movement to effect a change in the axis of rotation of theAcore whereby sets of wraps ol" thread will iia be applied to the core atan angle to each. other.

10. In'a ball winding machine, the combination of a pair of rotatableheads for receiving and holding a core to be wound,` a pair of elongatedrollers carried by one'head and adapted to engage the surface ofI thecore being wound, means for effecting a longitudinal movement of said'elongated rollers in opposed directions simultaneously, means forrotating said elongated rollers on their individual axes at the end oftheili;

. longitudinal movement to effect a change ,in `the direction ofrotation of said core to bring the core into" position to receive asecond set of wraps overlying but at an angle to' the first set of wrapsand cam mechanism for controlling the cross-over of eachyset ofwraps'whereby the. location of this point on the periphery of the corewill be varied.

11. AIn a ball winding machine, the combination of a pair of rotatableheads, a pair of freely movable, independently rotatable rollers carriedby one head, a pair of elongated rollers carried by the other head, allof said heads being located' so as to engage andhold acore in saidheads, rack and pinion` mechanism fory effecting longitudinal movementof said elongated rollers, cam mechanism for effecting operation of-said 'rack and pinion mechanism, gearing for effecting rotation of saidelongated rollers on l their individual axes` and cam-controlled ing.

brake mechanism for 12. In a ball Winding machine, the combination of apair' of heads for receiving and holding a core to be wound, a pair ofelongated rollers carried by one head and adapted to engage the.periphery of the core, a hollow shaftcarrying the last-nienf-tionedhead, a rod extending throughsaid of said elongated rollers and cammechanism vfor 'e'ecting a `rotation of the shaft carry- 'sliaft andcarrying apinion, a pair of racks operatively connected to said pinionand adapted to eii'ect a longitudinal movement ing said pinion in onedirection throughout a portion of the movement of,sa1dcam mechanism andin the opposite direction `throughout the remaining portion of thmovement of said cam mechanism. 13. In a ball winding machine. the com`bination of a pair of rotatable heads for receiving and holding a coreto be wound, gearing for rotating said heads in the same direction andat the same speed'simultaneously, a hollow shaft carrying .one head, a

pair of elongated rollers carried by said 'head and adapted to engagethe periphery v of the core being wound, a shaft extending through saidhollow'shaft, a pinion carried..

thereby a pair of racks connected to said rollers and adapted to beactuated by said pinion, a sleeve carried by saidpinion-carrycontrolling said gearingi shaft, said sleeve being providedwith "ed to receive a core to be wound, means for effecting a movementof one of'said heads in the direction of. its axis of rotation as thevdiameter of the core beingivound increases, a pair of elongated rollerscarried by the other head and adapted to engage the surface of the corebeing wound, mechanism for eifecting a lengthwise motion of saidelongated rollers simultaneously and in opposed directions, saidmechanism automatically compensating for the movement of one of saidheads in the direction of its axis of rotation.

15. In a ball winding machine, the combinationof a pair of rotatableheads adapted to receive and hold. a core to be wound, means forautomatically eii'ecting a movement of one of said heads in thedirection of its axis of rotation as the diameter of the 4coreincreases, a pair ofi'elongated rollers carried by the other head, racka'nd pinion .i

brake, and a gearfor carrying the last-menl tioned mechanism and themechanism for controlling the operation of the said rack and pinion,said gear being moved in the direction of its axis of rotation as thediameter of the article Ibeing wound increases.

16. In aV ball Winding machine, the corn-vi15 .bination of a pair ofrotatable heads for re-A lceiving and rotating a core to be wound,- onehead being movable automaticallyvin the directionof its axis of rotationas the diameter of the core increases, a gear, a rod connecting saidgear to said last-mentioned head whereby said gear and head will bemovedA simultaneously, a pair of rollers carried by the other of saidheads, gearing for eii'eoting a predetermined movement of said rollersand mechanism controlled by said `Vof said gearing; A 17. In aballvwinding machine, the coinbination of a pair of rotatable heads forre-l ceivngand rotating a core to be wound, a,

movable gear for controlling the operation pair of. elongated rollerscarried .by one of said heads, a rotatable hollow shaft for supportingthe head last mentioned, a bevelled gear mounted on said hollow shaft, abev'- elled gear meshing therewith and carried by said head andcamcontrolled mechanism lcooperating with the first-mentioned bevelledrq -ear to effect rotation of said elongated rollers at predeterminedintervals on their individual axes. 10

This specification signed this 6th day of June, 1922.

EVARTS G. LOOMIS.

